In the middle of the 20th century, two prominent Jewish communities in Philadelphia undertook major building projects in order to grow their congregations. Producer Ari Lipkis discusses how the leadership of both groups decided to recruit the top talent in modern architecture for these projects: the congregation of Beth Sholom hired Frank Lloyd Wright in 1953 to construct a massive synagogue in the suburbs, and some years later Mikveh Israel sought out Louis I. Kahn to design an innovative new building that was to be located in the historical heart of Philadelphia, a nod to the congregation’s ..read more

No one really knows what happened on the morning of September 23, 1780, but the aftermath changed the entire course of the American fight for independence. In this episode, producer Molly Bernhard will be discussing the famous capture of Major John André, a British spy, by a group of Americans in Tarrytown, New York. The subsequent monument that was created to commemorate the event honors and glorifies the captors. Historians likewise argue that André’s arrest saved the fate of the Continental Army and the American cause. We take a deeper dive into the stories of the captors and consider wheth ..read more

The Masonic Temple of Philadelphia was constructed in 1873 and today stands at the center of town, directly across the street from City Hall. Producer Nonna Batrakova examines the remarkable diversity of architectural styles that served as inspiration for the design of the Grand Lodge. Within the building, we focus on the interior decoration of four grand halls, each respectively named after the civilization or style evoked in the room’s furniture and wall ornamentation, such as Egyptian or Corinthian Hall. A number of interviews explore the monument’s history and reveal the significance of th ..read more

The Galata Tower in Istanbul stands as one of the most iconic monuments in the city’s skyline. It was recently reopened as a museum after several months of restoration. Producer Özlem Yıldız traces the many lives of the tower through the centuries, from a fire station to an astronomical observatory. By following the recent change in its status and speaking with different stakeholders about the restoration process, we touch on wider debates about politics and cultural heritage in today’s Turkey ..read more

Philadelphia City Hall has been a symbol of the city since its construction at the turn of the century. Producer Kendra Schmit dives into the history of the building and explores how its architectural style actually fell out of fashion rather quickly. Despite this, for over eight decades there was a mandate that no building in Philadelphia could be taller than the William Penn statue topping City Hall, so this heart of the municipal government played a crucial role in shaping the skyline of Philadelphia. Alongside the Liberty Bell and a well-crafted cheesesteak, City Hall stands as a true monu ..read more

Fairfield Hills Hospital stands as a commanding presence in Newtown, Connecticut, a small New England town that unfortunately came into the national spotlight with the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This episode takes a deeper look at Newtown’s history through Fairfield Hills, which was built in 1931 as a psychiatric hospital and functioned as such until 1995. It remained unoccupied until 2005, when the town bought the property from the state and tore down several of the hospital’s more derelict buildings and refurbished or rebuilt others. Producer Michael Lally investigates th ..read more

In this episode, producer Nicole Emser Marcel asks: How can artists intervene in or mediate an existing monument? And could these interventions bring about long-term change? To answer these questions, two very different sites are explored from opposite sides of the Atlantic: Tony Oursler’s artist installation at the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam (2014-15) and Dustin Klein and Alex Criqui’s impromptu projections on the Robert E. Lee Memorial in Richmond, Virginia during the summer of 2020 ..read more

The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship is a Sufi Muslim community located just outside of Philadelphia. The Fellowship, named after its Sri Lankan founder, was established in the 1970s after he visited the United States. The community is distinctive in that it is vegetarian, draws from Vedic spirituality, and encourages women to take central leadership positions. Producer Michael Ernst meets with Sheikha Maryam Kabeer, the public face of the Fellowship, and Muhammad Abdur-Razzaq, the imam of the mosque. A visit to the Fellowship reveals that the real monument to Bawa Muhaiyaddeen is not the building ..read more

In this episode, producer Sara Potts investigates multiple overlapping histories at Gettysburg National Military Park: from the official account of the National Park Service to the long ignored African American presence at the site. Through a number of interviews, we reflect on the potential for memory and remembrance at a monument that comprises an entire landscape—the site of the most famous battle of the American Civil War. With Gettysburg continuing to be contested and negotiated in today’s political environment, how do we grapple with and represent conflicting histories in a way that is c ..read more

The Painted Bride Art Center has long stood as a cultural monument in the city of Philadelphia. In this episode, Alexa Smith traces the Bride’s longer history, as well as the recent controversy around its sale. Through a series of interviews with different stakeholders, we explore conflicting attitudes between the local community and the organization itself on what it means to “save the Bride" when the building's future is jeopardized ..read more